KINGSTON HEIRLOOM QUILTERS NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 2009 KHQ web: quiltskingston.org/khq/

2008/2009 Executive Life Members: Margaret Rhodes, Diane Berry, Bea Walroth, Claire Upton, Donna Hamilton Directors: Margaret Rhodes, Diane Berry President: Donna Hamilton Past President: Margaret Henshaw Vice President: Corresponding Secretary: Sally Hutson Recording Secretary: Sylvia Currie Treasurer: Simone Lynch Social Convenors: Diane Davies Membership/Phone Convenors: Rosalie Gray, Gail Jennings Publicity: Peggy McAskill Program: Executive Newsletter Editor: Ros Hanes Historian: Bea Walroth Librarian: Lorna Grice Baby Quilts: Joan Bales, Peggy McAskill

Meeting Dates: Tuesdays: Dec 1 (Xmas lunch) Thursdays: Nov 19 Jan 5 Jan 21 (General meeting) Feb2 Feb 18 Mar 2 Mar 18 Message from Your President Donna Hamilton Halloween day was miserable, wet, cold, and damp. That is, until mid afternoon, when the rain stopped, and the sun began to try to peek through the clouds. And boy, did the wind start to blow. I was busy sewing when I decided to take a break and walked to the front window. To my delight, I saw golden leaves dancing wildly around the corner, flying together down the road right past my house and dozens of others. But I’m not talking about a few leaves. I saw thousands, thick curtains of leaves! It was wonderful! Then there was a brief break when all was quiet. Then, wham, another gust, and another few thousand leaves rushed past in perfect harmony, from about 10 feet high to the road. And another, and another gust of leaves. I had never seen anything like it! I sat on the floor and watched the show. The leaves were having fun playing in the wind, making their way to who knows where. Oddly enough, the big pile of leaves on our neighbour’s lawn across the street didn’t move an inch! It was as if they were part of the audience watching the parade.

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The clouds in the distance, looking west, appeared like smoke from barbeques at a large tailgating party! Nature was having a whale of a party! More and more blue sky appeared changing the colours of the leaves. The sun was warming up the air. Suddenly, a 12 year old girl from across the street and down a house appeared on her front lawn. She wanted to join the dance. She opened her arms wide, faced into the wind, and jumped as high as she could, hoping to catch a gust of wind. She ran, she jumped! She ran again! She tried again and again, skipping and jumping and falling on the lawn. What fun she had! All the while, every gust of wind carried more and more leaves up the street. This continued for a good 30 to 45 minutes. And then it was over. The air warmed up, and it was a great night for Halloween Trick or Treaters. Now what does this have to do with quilting? Colour play? Inspiration? Maybe! It was one of those magic times when I wished my kids were small and still at home. We could have gone out and joined the girl across the street to enjoy the smells, colours, wind and inspiration of the fall. It was another “Autumn Splendour”! I hope you find inspiration for your next quilt project. It’s all around us. We just have to stop and look for it. See you at the Church Hall! Baby Quilts Peggy McAskill HELP NEEDED !! Joan and I need help binding the baby quilts. We will have quilts at the meetings that are ready to be bound. We hope someone will be willing to work on one at the meetings or take one home to finish and return later. Many Thanks! Welcome to our two newest commercial members:

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Highlights from the Fall Donna Hamilton As just about everyone said in September, “this is going to be a busy fall”! And here it is, only half way through November as I write this, and there is so much to talk about. I could go on about the progress we’re starting to make on several of the quilts in the works. This is due to all your work and contributions during our meetings. But I won’t. Instead, I’m going to focus on three other things that happened this fall. A Quilt for Claire Donna Hamilton and Peggy McAskill Remember how you all made a block for Claire and brought it to the Oct 6th meeting? There we all added messages for Claire to our block. A group of us including Bea, Diane B, Simone, Donna, Jose and many others gathered around our make-shift design wall and agonized over the placement of the blocks. At 11am, Donna rang the bell and said time’s up! We wanted to finish the quilt top today. With a last minute change or two of blocks, we finalized the layout. Rosalie, Carol, and Sylvia had brought their machines and began sewing the blocks together. By 2:30-3pm they were done! How will we quilt it? Claire was to leave the hospital on Oct 16th and we wanted her to take the quilt home with her. We finally decided that Sylvia would tack the quilt in one spot on the blocks with her machine using a fancy “star”. Then she would pass the quilt to Rosalie who would tack the quilt in other spots with buttons and then bind the quilt. Once again, KHQ rose to the challenge, and on Tuesday, Oct 13th, I received a phone call saying the quilt was ready. A quick email or phone call to members invited all to deliver the quilt to Claire at noon on Thursday, Oct 15th. Peggy told Claire that Donna was coming to see her at lunch time on Thursday. The stage was set. About 15 of us met downstairs in front of the double doors at noon at St. Mary’s on The Lake Hospital. We quietly (or as quietly as we could!) walked up the stairs to the second floor and waited in the sun room. Donna went in to see Claire who was already visiting with Nelly, suggesting that we visit in the sun room. As they approached the room, Donna said, “I didn’t come alone, Claire!” Once in the room, Claire saw her smiling quilting buddies waiting for her! Needless to say, Claire was surprised and pleased to see each and every one of us. She was told about the many members who couldn’t be there due to previous commitments who sent their greetings. Not everyone who came is pictured above. Some had to leave early. But not before Eleanor read each and every message on the quilt to Claire who sat spellbound.

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Claire is now in Belleville living with her daughter, Kim and family. She loves her quilt and has it where she can see it when she wakes and when she goes to bed. Good work KHQ! Claire says she is still flabbergasted that we were there and that we made the quilt for her. She is doing well and sends her thanks to each and every one of us. She hopes to come and see us soon … by train, by car, she’s not sure which, but you can be sure she is with us in spirit! Meet Lillian Lemke On Oct 22nd, Lillian Lemke, one of the newer members of the Kingston Heirloom Quilters, kindly agreed to give us a trunk show. Lillian has been quilting for years and comes to us from the USA via Cloyne, Ontario. We learned that Lillian is the “Blue Quilter”, as that is one of her favourite colours and many of her quilts have blue, lots of blue in them! Lillian told us many stories of her life and friends as she shared her quilt projects over the years. It was wonderful meeting you through your quilts, Lillian! Welcome to the Kingston Heirloom Quilters. Thanks for a wonderful trunk show!

Postcard Paper Piecing with Simone Many of you requested demonstrations of some quick and easy techniques in quilting – some tips and tricks. Simone Lynch kindly volunteered to show you “Postcard Paper Piecing”, a method she learned from Greta Kristiansen-Jacobs when she took Fibreworks Kingston’s April 2009 workshop. Thanks, Simone. It is an easy twist to paper piecing!

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Thirty Years Young, 1979-2009 Donna Hamilton and Sylvia Curry On Thursday November 5 at 1pm, the Kingston Heirloom Quilters celebrated their 30th Anniversary with a talk from Kingstonian, Pamela Allen, at St. John’s Anglican Church. About 50 members and their friends joined us for a delightful afternoon. Pamela brought a variety of her art quilts which span her 20+ years of quiltmaking; an evolution from fine arts to paper collage to fibre collage. And she has never looked back, with about 100 entries in exhibitions and shows in the past 8 years. Pamela is energetic, enthusiastic, certainly whimsical, socially conscious, and a collector of an incredible range of embellishments for her quilts. “Anything I can drill a hole in is fair game”. She starts each project with a blank “canvas” and lets the quilt grow. Her subjects often reflect her life experiences, or make satirical comment, using her artist’s perspective in bold use of colour and composition. She has perfected the technical aspects of quiltmaking (with such aids as a 360 degree laser level!) and focuses her energy on the creative aspects. Her work is evolving; there is less emphasis on embellishment and more subtle use of colour now. We are indeed fortunate to have Pamela offer us her 3 day workshop “Think Like an Artist”, an approach which is will surely benefit us and a most appropriate way to start us on our next 30 years! Pamela told us stories from her life through her quilts. We caught her enthusiasm, her passion for life and for quilting. We laughed and laughed. How often have you seen garters in a quilt? (Note the buttons down the front of Grandma’s dress below.) How about curlers? Say, do you hate vacuuming? Pamela takes all her loves and hates into her quilts. That quilt was called “Snake Charmer”! Look carefully and you can see the curlers along the left side of her dress. What else can you say but what Simone did when she thanked Pamela: “WOW!”

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After a delightful talk and show of 18 quilts, guests were invited to enjoy some refreshments and then see a mini-quilt show featuring work from the Kingston Heirloom Quilters. There were several group quilts from the past along with many quilts and wall hangings made by members. A “work in progress” pinned to a sheet, was hung as well – our Fashion through the Decades. Unfortunately, we can’t print all the pictures we have of the show. But we will put others on our web page. Be sure to check out: www.quiltskingston.org/khq

Comments on the Pamela Allen Workshop: Donna Hamilton Pamela’s workshop was wonderful! She got us started quickly. “Just do it!” she said. And we did and it worked. She got my confidence going and others also, I’m sure. Maybe I have some artist in me despite myself. There are not many workshops where you come home with 2 projects per day. But we did. The bad news is that I now want to collect all types of fabric, all the little things my kids played with when they were young, and all kinds of things that we find in the Dollar Store at a time when I’m suppose to be DOWNSIZING! The good news is that I now know how I can use all that junk that I’ve collected including all the stuff I gave away last month! Ohhh, the frustrations of learning new methods! Mary Ann did a great job organizing the 3 fun-filled days. Many, many thanks! And if this wetted your appetite for fibre art, be sure to check out Fibreworks Kingston workshops in the spring. I’m told that Anna Hergert from Moose Jaw, SK (teaching March 20-21 & March 23-24) is a gem of an instructor. Judy Martin (April 24-25) will also be great and is teaching Slow Art; hand stitching is her thing. Hilary Scanlon or I can give you more details.

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Mary Catherine Robb Fun, challenging, fun, mind-bending, fun, wonderfully creative, fun...some of the words that were heard at the Pamela Allen workshop last weekend. Pamela in her relaxed informative style had us working on projects that encouraged fabric creativity with happy abandon. As a result we took home about 6 small wall hangings ( lessons ) that we will continue to work on ( aka UFO's ) !! Jocelyn Ezard The workshop was challenging – time restraints for setting up backgrounds and using uneven pieces of fabric. We were encouraged to stretch our creativity and we did it all while having a lot of fun. Pamela was knowledgeable and informative. Mickie Beauchamp The three days I spent with Pamela was a wonderful experience for me. It took the whole three days for the creative juices to get it all together but I found that maybe I am an artist of one kind or another. Anjali Shyam Pamela kept us busy thinking and working at all times; it was very fast paced! It was also very refreshing; I didn’t have to measure anything and I could work with whatever fabric was available. However I have come home with a few more UFO's and now I can’t throw anything out anymore, including broken watches (I had just thrown out one, before the 'Pamela' experience). I would love to do another work shop with Pamela, soon!

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Membership Rosalie Gray To date, we have 52 confirmed members this year. (There are a few members who have indicated they intend to renew their membership but haven't done so yet. In Rosalie's absence, Assistant membership convenor Gail Jennings HATES to beg, so please submit your fee soon! Thanks, Gail). Membership lists were distributed at the Oct. 22 meeting, and Gail has extras for those who weren't present. We are especially pleased to welcome four new members: Lilliam Lemke, Anne Claudio, Lesha McIlroy, & Jane Lay, and sincerely hope they will enjoy our company and activities. (Note: The latter two names will need to be added to your "list" -- pertinent details are provided at the library desk.) Till I see you again next spring, have a Merry Christmas etc. etc. – May your quilts keep you cozy warm this winter.

Cheers! XOXO Rosalie

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Snippets

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* Margaret Rhodes is continuing to recover from her fall and pneumonia at the Kingston General Hospital. She is already talking about how she’s going to bind the baby quilts she has at home, and she’s thinking about what quilting she will add to the Dresden Plate quilt that KHQ just finished “outline” quilting. This is a sure sign that she feeling better. We wish her a speedy recovery. She is still not receiving any visitors. * WINTER is coming and if the weather is very, very bad and we decide to cancel a meeting, you will be notified via E-mail. Those without E-mail will be notified by phone (hopefully). Gail Jennings * Christmas Decorating Tip: You've finally replaced an old fireplace with a gas insert and new surround and mantel. The grandchildren are coming and want to hang their stockings for Santa but you don't want to put hooks or nails in that new mantel. Just wrap some of your quilt posts with Christmas wrapping paper or cloth, top with bows and/or baubles, cup hook or nails and everyone including Santa will be happy. Gail Jennings * Three KHQ members entered the Kingston Fall Fair this year and did very well again. José Roosenmaallen won 9 ribbons: 3 firsts, 4 seconds, 1 third and the best Christmas article. Phyllis Vanhorne won our coveted special KHQ award for Best Large Quilt of the Show, hand quilted. Donna Hamilton won 14 ribbons: 5 for quilting entries ( 4 firsts, 1 second), 2 for sewing (1 first, 1 second), 1 for knitting (second), and 6 for her flowers (1 first, 2 seconds, 3 thirds). Ros Hanes

Upcoming events: February 26-28: Quilters Pleasure Weekend & Retreat Cornwall Quilt Guild & Giroux Sewing Center present this quilt show at Nav-Canada Conference Center 1950 Montreal Rd., Cornwall, Friday & Sat. 10-9 Sun 10-3 display of quilts, merchant mall, trunk shows, classes, fashion show & more. Admission: $10 weekend pass. Contact Karen or Brad 613-938-8455 or email inf at quilterspleasureweekend.com www.quilterspleasureweekend.com

Mar 19-21: Fibreworks Kingston Workshop with Anna Hergert Fibreworks weekend workshops begin with Friday evening lecture 7-9 pm, inclusive for participants, Guests $5 at St Lawrence College, Kingston, Room #12050, 2nd Floor on "The Link", (Entrance E12). Workshop Sat & Sun 9:30 am-4:00 pm again in Room #12050. Elements that Please with Anna: This workshop is designed to create a small quilt for the sole purpose of embellishing. We will incorporate beads, foils, and many more simple materials to set your design apart from others. Hand and machine work will be demonstrated and sampled. Basic design principles will be introduced. Skill Level: All Levels Web: www.annahergert.com. For more information, contact Donna at fibreworks at cogeco.ca

Mar 19, 23-24: Fibreworks Kingston Workshop with Anna Hergert Fibreworks weekend workshops begin with Friday evening lecture 7-9 pm, inclusive for participants, Guests $5 at St Lawrence College, Kingston, Room #12050, 2nd Floor on "The Link", (Entrance E12). Workshop Tues & Wed 9:30 am-4 pm at Odessa Agricultural Centre. Art & Design for Quilters - an Introduction with Anna: This workshop is for anyone who has ever wanted to step out of the box, leave the familiar and traditional behind and create a one of a kind art quilt, and create a resource collection of design exercises and tools applicable to future projects. Participants will explore some of the keystones of design by working into a sketchbook for future reference. In addition, opportunities will be provided to translate a specific design from paper into fabric for future embellishment by hand and / or machine. Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced Web: www.annahergert.com. For more information, contact Donna at fibreworks at cogeco.ca

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